News

Obasanjo Says Continuity Vital For Effective Reforms In Civil Service

Published

2 months ago

July 30, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that there must be continuity for any reforms to be effective in Nigeria.

The former President stated this at the Aig Imoukhuede Foundation Annual Workshop with the theme “Rethinking Reforms, focusing on Why Many Reforms Fail In Nigeria and What We Can Do About Us”, on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to Obasanjo the greatest pain of reform is discontinuity and that the best thing for any reform would be for the initiator, the owner, the executor, the driver and the sustainer to be continual.

“Any break in continuity means virtually the end of reform. And then one thing we must understand is reform is a lifelong thing. The process of reform, even in your daily life, in your own life, you are reforming.

“You are making adjustment. So why should it be difficult? I don’t believe that it should be difficult. When I was looking for debt relief, one of the things that they told me as I went around the world is reform.

“Now, the point I am making is that reform is continual. It is not a destination. It is a journey”, he stated.

Former President Obasanjo also said there is the need for recognition of technocrats in the civil service, stateinh that they play a crucial role in driving reforms and effective governance.

He explained “Technocrats have power, and we must recognise that”, even as he’d referred to the Permanent Secretaries and other civil servants as the tetechnocrats.

Her added: “And that journey must continue. Now, I have met and I have had to deal with some of the best in the public service of this country. And we have, and from the point you have made, it will appear that those that I have met and dealt with, you still have people like that in the service today.

“The point is that we need as good men and women in the public service as we need in the private sector. And the public service, if you look very hard, as I had looked when I had the opportunity, the public service contains some of the best men and women in every sense of the word that you can find in this country. The question is that some of them are frustrated.

“Some of them are inadequately rewarded. And this we have to take note of and correct where we need to correct. The second point, or the third point I want to make, for the public service, and it is the entire public service, which means the executive, the legislative, the judiciary, and the technocrats.

“Normally, we tend to leave the technocrat. And that’s a mistake. They have power”.

According to him, for any reform to succeed there must be collaboration between political heads and technocrats.

“Reform requires political heads and technocrats working together, respecting and understanding each other. That’s when you can have real reform.

“Why many reforms in Nigeria, why many reform fails in Nigeria, and what we can do about it. Outgoing Head of Service, I want to thank you for all that you are doing and all that you have done and all that remains to be done”, he asserted.

In her address, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Esan, acknowledged that there are challenges and impediments in the implementation of successful reform programmes in Nigeria.

She noted that there is need for the reform action to deal with those challenges and listed them.

“The first is a lack of inclusive implementation strategy framework. Poor funding and inadequate budgetary provisions in the MTAs to fund the implementation of reforms.

“Lack of skilled manpower. Poor communication at planning and implementation stages. Poor or total lack of ownership of reforms by sub-nationals.

“Poor involvement of citizens. Lack of synergy between the public and private sector organizations. Lack of synergy amongst implementing MTAs.

“Policy somersaults and rivalry and conflict of interest even among government institutions. Some others include lack of political will and ownership to support reform implementation. Resistance to change.

“Poor ICT infrastructure. Political interferences in bureaucratic processes. Dwindling support by partners.

“Lack of legislation to legalize and institutionalize reforms. Lack of institutional capacity. Weak governance structures around the reform processes.

“Inadequate follow-through mechanisms for implementation of reforms. And lastly, a lack of shared wisdom, vision on national development among others. And so with all these impediments, barriers to reforms, in 2020, the Office of the Head of Service had an opportunity to review the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan”, Esan stated.

She revealed that efforts made to address these challenges, includes wide stakeholder consultation, governance structure for reform initiatives, and capacity building.

The HoS noted the key elements for successful reform pprogrammes which she identifies as “Systems and support structures, partnerships, high-level monitoring, capacity building, compensation systems, and change management strategy are crucial for success”.

She also acknowledged the progress made in re-engineering the civil service, saying, “It is essential to recognize and celebrate the good work of our officers and partners while sanctioning indiscipline and poor performance.”

In his welcome address, the chairman Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede highlighted the importance of efficient and motivated public service in achieving good governance, production and distribution of public goods, formulation and implementation of economic policy, and management of public expenditure.

He noted that Nigeria’s current Human Development Index ranking of 161 out of 189 countries is a reflection of the performance of government over several decades.

He emphasised the need for a strong public service, saying, “This is what is holding us back. And you would agree that there’s a correlation between the strength of a country’s public sector and its strength as a nation.”

Aig-Imoukhuede also highlighted the foundation’s efforts to transform public service delivery, including building a critical mass of public sector leaders, providing technical support and funding for digitization efforts, and upskilling thousands of workers in the civil service.

“It’s simple. There’s nothing you can do about it. This is why all nations in the world have a continuing focus on ensuring that their government works.

“This is the aim of government reform, to create a government workforce of the size and with the skills, and it doesn’t end there, with the incentives, ethos, and accountability needed to provide quality public services and carry out the functions stated in Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution. This is what is holding us back. And you would agree that there’s a correlation between the strength of a country’s public sector and its strength as a nation.

“As a result, the most important objective of any nation in the 21st century is to have an effective and efficient public service. It is with this belief in mind that my wife Ofoe and I founded the Aike Wakode Foundation. We are convinced that improved public services lead to better outcomes for our people, communities, and economies.

“Through our support, the service has successfully digitized thousands of files, automated 300 processes, acquired hundreds of new digital devices. In addition, our collaboration with Microsoft, we are upskilling thousands of workers in the civil service. A key area of our support to the civil service is the culture change program.

“To change the mindset of this key constituency, we provide communication training, culture change campaign videos, and ongoing assistance for the publication of official newsletters. We’ve helped to develop the civil service culture handbook, better than actually many of the culture handbooks I’ve seen in the private sector, but we must make it work, that applies the values, behaviors, and practices that are essential for delivering the state’s chapter 200. A key element of our foundation’s theory of change is to ensure that every Nigerian citizen takes ownership of the critical need to reform the public service.

“It is not their public service, it is your public service, it is our public service, and understand that as it strengthens, you strengthen as well. So we must join hands, come together, and make it work. This commitment brings us to the purpose of this gathering today, to discuss the topic, rethinking reforms, why many reforms fail in Nigeria, and what we can do about it”, he stated.

The Chairman therefore called on stakeholders to come together and commit to reform the public service, even as he said, this conversation does not end here. And indeed, the Nigerian Public Sector Reform Project reboots here.

News

Edo guber: LP’s Akpata remains a front runner, set to capture Edo

Published

40 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Less than twenty-four hours to the start of voting in Saturday’s governorship poll in Edo State, a rash of fake news has broken out.

Leading parties in the election have had their fair shares of fake news either indicating the withdrawal of their candidates or disqualification by a Magistrate Court or Supreme Court.

For instance, Olumide Akpata of LP was said to have withdrawn from the race and thrown his support for Asue Ighodalo in a statement that read smoothly and appeared convincing.

THE CONCLAVE sent the statement to Akpata via WhatsApp for confirmed.

He responded by sending the same statement with FAKE NEWS boldly stamped on it.
He said he was set for victory at the poll.

There was also a news flash about the Supreme Court disqualifying Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party, with a sign off: More details coming….

A Magistrate Court in Abuja was also reported to have disqualified Monday Okpebholo of the APC from the poll on account of age falsification.

The APC campaign organisation had swiftly put a lie to the report by deploying the court papers in the circumstance.

News

Guber poll :PDP govs storm Edo to support Ighodalo

Published

42 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Barely 24hours to governorship election in Edo State, no fewer than two governors elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday arrived Benin City.

The governors, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa and Kefas Agbu of Taraba, arrived the state to mobilise support for the party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

Fintiri made this known in a post on his social media page on Friday evening.

He said : “Just touched down in Edo State alongside my brother, Gov. Agbu Kefas, ahead of the September 21st gubernatorial election. We stand united in support of our Official PDP Nigeria candidate, Asue ighodalo, for a brighter future.”

Edo governor, Godwin Obaseki, who is the PDP leader in the state, had earlier cried out over alleged plot by the All Progressives Congress to rig the election.

As at the time of filling this report, it was unclear if other PDP governors would also hit the state for the election

News

Speed Darlington taunt Burna Boy about his grammy award (+Video)

Published

53 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Austin Ojomah

……. As Speed Darlington queries Afrobeats singer, Burna Boy over his Grammy win.

By Ojomah Austin.

Controversial Nigerian rapper, Speed Darlington has sparked controversy with his claims that Burna Boy’s Grammy Award win can be attributed to the influential role of American rapper and entrepreneur, P. Diddy.

Amid allegations against US rapper, P.Diddy, resulting in his arrest, Speed Darlington suggested that Burna Boy had an intimate relationship with Diddy which paved the way for him to win the Grammy.

Speed Darlington’s bold and contentious assertion comes amidst recent allegations surrounding Diddy, who was reportedly arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges of human trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

In a provocative Instagram video, Speed Darlington credited Diddy for Burna Boy’s rapid ascent to international fame and Grammy success, highlighting the American rapper’s significant impact on Burna Boy’s music career.

Speed Darlington openly challenged Burna Boy to disclose the nature of his relationship with Diddy. Suggesting an amorous relationship between the duo, he blatantly asked Burna Boy to reveal how many bottles of oil Diddy used on his buttocks before he was able to win a Grammy.

In his words:

“It wasn’t long after Burna Boy posted a photo of him and Diddy that he won a Grammy Award. Burna Boy, don’t be offended, but how many oils did Diddy use on your nyash before they gave you the Grammy Award?”.

In response to Speed Darlington’s video, One @oluchukwu_____ wrote: “Akpis confidence need to be studied 😂😂.”

vibe_with_fiona wrote: “When burna comes for him,make una no say burna too do o?”

godson_allsom wrote: “If there is Grammy for comedians 😂 akpi for done win like 10.”

official_kahlan wrote: “Presido I don tire to defend you 😂 ga zu ike 🙄.”

asikosharon50 wrote: “Very anyhow talk, Burnaboy won Grammy for his hard work and talent . If na Diddy dey share Grammy why him own Artist for him label nor dey win the Grammy? Na him be say Tems dey and wizkid sef they nick people dem work with naa, useless talk …”

jaytee_yna wrote: “I’m a big fan of Akpi but this is so irrelevant and irresponsible. Burna’s hardwork & God’s grace gave him the Grammy. Okbye!”

lorah_irez wrote: “If person never bèat akpi he no go rest, wetin be this na 😂😂😂.”